Young Hearts for Life - 2017 Recap

With the support of generous donors and the work of volunteers, Lemont High School partnered with Young Hearts for Life and Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital to offer all Lemont High School students free cardiac screenings on September 21, 2017. More than 900 students - a record number of participants from the school! - took advantage of the Young Hearts for Life (YH4L) Cardiac Screening program's visit to Lemont High School.

Young Hearts for Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides free cardiac screenings – this includes an electrocardiogram (i.e., EKG or ECG), and also may include an echocardiogram. These screenings help identify high school students who may be at risk for sudden cardiac death. More than 130,000 students have been screened since the inception of the Young Hearts for Life program in 2006.

A simple EKG can be used to screen physically active students and detect certain serious heart conditions. Recording the heart’s electrical activity using electrodes attached to the skin with a mild adhesive, an EKG can detect approximately 60 percent of the “abnormalities” or markers from heart conditions associated with sudden cardiac death. EKG testing is recommended every two years, through the age of 25.

Between its visits to campus in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017, Young Hearts for Life has provided free cardiac screenings for approximately 3,400 Lemont High School students!

Parents/guardians may visit the Young Hearts for Life website to learn more about the cardiac screening program. A student's individual results may be obtained by clicking on the appropriate link from the YH4L page.